Released today at 2pm GMT I tuned in to listen to the new Beatles song ‘Now And Then’, something that I would never have expected to have happened earlier in the year. I, like many other Beatles fans, have long been familiar with the demo John recorded back in 1978 and while it has its charms as a demo, I was well aware that Peter Jackson’s MAL technology was going to have to perform some heavy lifting in order to deliver a vocal that a song could be built around.

Having watched the short documentary released by Apple yesterday on the making of the song, my main take away and reassurance was the amazing clarity of John’s short vocal clip. Now supplemented with Paul’s piano the song begins in such a haunting way that I found it very emotional. The song is further enhanced by a complementary elements including a string arrangement, slide guitar and backing vocals flown in from ‘Because’, ‘Here There & Everywhere’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Ringo, as he has always done, contributes drums that are sympathetic to the end result too. Presumably the rhythm guitar that cuts through at several points during the song are those performed by George during the initial sessions for the song.

Recent media is pronouncing ‘Now And Then’ as the last Beatles song; and if this proves to be the case then it will certainly be very fitting. The various release formats will be reviewed in a separate post as will the release of the Red and Blue albums which will include the stereo mix of ‘Love Me Do’ also released today online. The A-Side partner of this release again compliments the now and them theme as the first and last 45’s. Additionally though, the release of Peter Jackson’s music video will likely bring an even more emotive dynamic to ‘Now And Then’ when it is released tomorrow.

I have absorbed ‘Now And Then’ probably a dozen or so times since its release and feel that it grows in significance after each listen. Each of us will take something different from the song but to have the chance to listen to new Beatles music is a blessing and a privilege. I love the song after initial listens and will be interested to see how opinions are changed as time rolls on between now and then …

Review by Gwyn Jenkins.